Open Mike Night: Mae #1

Mae #1

Mike Maillaro: For some reason or another, I have never read a lot of Dark Horse books.  For a while, I was able to say it was because I didn’t like their digital platform, but to be honest, long before I was reading comics digitally, I mostly avoided Dark Horse.  Just something about many of their books always came off as boring to me.  It’s not a fair assessment, as I have enjoyed many Dark Horse books that I have read over the years, but it’s just one of those ideas that gets stuck in my head.

A few months ago, our friend Grey suggested that I check out House of Penance (because I love Peter Tomasi), and that was a terrific book that made me feel I needed to give Dark Horse a fair shot to win me over.  And then I saw the solicit for Gena Ha’s Mae.

I had heard of Mae before, it was a graphic novel that came out last year that was sponsored by Kickstarter.   The solicit won me over immediately, “When she was just a girl, Abbie discovered a portal to a fantasy world and for the last couple of years has been having great adventures there: defeating horrible monsters, power-mad scientists, and evil nobles. She was a celebrated action hero! But when she turned twenty-one it all came apart and she decided to return home. Her sister, Mae, has had no idea what happened to Abbie all this time. Her tales are too hard to believe; that is, until the monsters and other terrible creatures start to cross over to our world...”

I will admit, that going into this book, I was expecting something like JM Dematteis’s Abadazad, but Mae was a little more grounded in reality.  I did think some of the writing could have been a little clearer,  Sometimes character names all blended together for me.  It never ruined the book for me, but I had to reread it a few times to make sure I was clear on who was who.  

Mike Weaver: I, also, tended not to buy Dark Horse for no other reason than that many of their popular titles were licensed properties, and I usually avoid comics based on licensed properties.  Since this wasn’t a licensed property, it was pretty easy to ignore my preconceptions about Dark Horse and give it a read.

Grounded in reality...kind of.  I don’t know that I would agree with that assessment.  Early on, Mae discovers a box full of magic artifacts in Abbie’s room during one of the times Abbie had “run away”, and accidentally unleashes some magic creatures that were hanging out in it.  I have no idea if that segues into the overarching plot that magic creatures are now in the real world hunting Abbie.  That bothers me because it seems like a plot thread that should have been followed through if it was a causal factor.  It doesn’t seem like the things loose in the world now are the same things unleashed, but you never know with magic.

So Abbie returns to our world and promptly gets thrown in the clink, disrupting a geeky reunion between Mae and a friend of hers that had been at college. When the girls go to get Abbie out of jail, she’s wearing wacky fantasy clothes and carrying a couple of bronze axes.  While Mae thinks this is weird, I don’t think she thought it was as weird as I would think, although there is the whole “already found a box of artifacts” thing going for it.  They end up fighting some goblins, with Abbie stating that at this point, Mae has to believe.

I had some issues with the set-up.  It’s in a small Indiana town, and definitely has a small town feel to it which gets totally stood on its head by Abbie’s Magical Stuff.  However, there seems to be a few really weird things going on with some of the townspeople trying to run Mae down, presumably as payback for Abbie embarrassing them.  It feels like there should be more to this than the obvious, but at the same time, it heavily tilts towards there not being more to this than is obvious.  The brief battle seems incredibly one sided, which undercut the threat level, and made me wonder why total scrubs are dimension hopping to beat the queen.  I don’t know exactly how to say it, but there were several moments that I felt the story should be giving me more than it was giving.

Maillaro: When I said “grounded in reality” I meant compared to books I like Abadazad, I Hate Fairyland, even something like Oz or Wonderland.  Sure, there were plenty of hints of the weird and otherworldly, but just for my interest I was kind of hoping it would be a little more “over the top” for lack of a better world.  

I definitely saw some of the weird, disjointed flow that you commented on.  I wonder if that is because the original version of this was a graphic novel.  It’s very different to write for a monthly ongoing that a graphic novel.  You can get away with leaving more hanging in the beginning if the reader doesn’t have to wait a month or more for the explanation.  Because when I read this comic, I thought there was a lot of good ideas here, but some of the execution felt a little clumsier than I was expecting.

Weaver: Yeah, I think this probably...well, it was intended as a graphic novel and was designed to fit that, but I think that making it an episodic comic was the right marketing move.  There are some really critically acclaimed original graphic novels that don’t do well in sales simply because it’s a larger investment in an unknown product.  

I disagree on the over the top factor.  I think it was exactly as over the top as, say, the early parts of Oz or even Alice.  The outfit that Abbie wears was pretty much exactly what I’d picture her after her sojourns in fairy land to look.  And the monsters were pretty shocking when juxtaposed on small town life.

Maillaro: I did absolutely love Abbie’s outfit.  It definitely helped sell the story well.  You may have a point that the early parts of Oz and Wonderland were pretty normal, but from what I know this story seems like it will be taking place on Earth.  That is why I was expecting a little more weirdness in the beginning. It’s not a huge issue, just what I was expecting vs what I got.  That’s probably on me, not any real fault of the book itself.

I did like Mae’s character quite a bit.   Abbie too felt pretty well-defined, even though she was unmoored from reality.  Like I said, I did think there was a lot to like about this book.

Weaver: You know who wasn’t defined at all?  College friend who gives them a ride and just basically sits around staring agape for the rest of the issue.  I assume she gets fleshed out and becomes integral later, but for now, may as well use a cardboard cutout.

I’m also reminded of the issue of Archer and Armstrong that we reviewed a while back, which was another example of “portal fiction.”  Compared to that, this story feels like it should have done a lot more.  I think it has potential, but it’s not as far along as it should be.

I’m giving a 3.5 for story and a 4.5 for art, mostly for Abbie’s sweet design.

Maillaro: The problem with potential is that the comic industry is already way over crowded.  If you can’t make a huge impression with that first issue, you are probably not going to go very far.  I liked the comic well enough, but there was nothing in here that made me say “Yeah, I am real excited for this series.”  I may give it another shot, but it’s definitely on the chopping block.  

I like the 3.5 for the story, but I would also go 3.5 for the art.  I did like Abbie’s design, but everything else just looked so generic, even the monsters from the other world.  And like you said about college friend, nothing about this book really stood out for me.

Maillaro: This week is such a busy week for big comics.  DC Rebirth, Scooby Doo Apocalypse, the end of Superman, Captain America revealed to be a Hydra agent all along!

Weaver: End of Superman?  I’ve heard that before.  I’m tempted to go with the Scooby Doo.

Maillaro: While I have loved Tomasi’s Superman, there is definitely a Reign of the Superman feel to it.  We have Chinese Superman, crazy evil Superman, Pre-Flashpoint Superman (and his son), Supergirl, and Superwoman all stepping in to replace the presumingly about to be dead “New 52” Superman.

Yeah, Scooby Doo by the Justice League 3001 creative team is so hard to pass up.  Let’s do it!

Weaver: Plus, it’s something outside the mainstream, and I like to hit those kinds of comics.  Sounds good.

Final Scores

Summary: Mae is a great idea for a comic, but it never quite feels like it makes the transition from graphic novel to ongoing series all that smoothly.  The main characters look great, but some of the fantasy creatures look kind of generic and the supporting cast don't feel all that well developed.  Not a bad first issue by any stretch, but it just didn't stand out as a must read comic.